Rapid growth of a fetal abdominal mass: A case report of congenital neuroblastoma

✍ Scribed by Shen, Meng-Ru; Lin, Yue-Shan; Huang, Soon-Cen; Chou, Cheng-Yang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 405 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0091-2751
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0096(199701)25:1<39::aid-jcu7>3.0.co;2-l

✦ Synopsis

Congenital malignant neoplasms are very rare, with neuroblastoma accounting for the majority of such tumors and frequently producing extensive metastasis before birth. 1 In the present case, rapid growth of a congenital neuroblastoma was diagnosed at 36 weeks menstrual age (MA), by ultrasound examination. The differential diagno-sis included Wilms' tumor, mesoblastic nephroma, adrenal hemorrhage, and liver diseases.

CASE REPORT

A 32-year-old woman, gravida 4 para 3, had an uneventful pregnancy until 36 weeks, MA, when a fetal abdominal mass was detected in a routine ultrasound examination. The patient was referred for further evaluation. Fetal echography indicated normal biometric measurements, normal amniotic fluid volume, and normal umbilical artery flow velocity waveforms. A solid mass, 5.7 cm × 4.2 cm × 2.7 cm, was evident above the right kidney and separated from both the kidneys and liver (Figure 1). There was neither ascites